4 Quick Tips for Generating Buzz and Staying Organized at Conferences and Trade Shows
Let’s face it, it is pretty difficult to stand out from the pack when you are at a large conference like #CMWorld.
All exhibitors have their pitches, you’re in close proximity to your competitors, and you’re fighting against the doughnuts for your audience’s attention. Therefore, it is important to have a strong set of tools to see success.
Here are a few tricks that we have found to be helpful.
1. Swag Matters
If you have the opportunity for a bag drop, take it. Offering something creative or useful to the attendees is a great way for them to know your name. Even those who miss your booth will become familiar with your company. Hopefully, they will keep your gift and use it after the conference.
Furthermore, if you can pick something that’s different, it is even better. This year, we offered a computer cleaner to the attendees at Content Marketing World. It came in a sliver tube and you needed to twist the ends to uncover the brushes and reveal the treat. Folks were confused by the mysterious sliver tube they found in their bags and started to tweet us for pointers.
What a great way to create buzz around your company! Any time you get your company tweeted at with the conference hashtag, you have amped up your exposure, making your trip to the conference even better.
2. Be Organized
When exhibiting at a conference, you will receive tons of emails about “to dos” and deadlines. Remember this!
Seriously, don’t forget it!
All the deadlines can be confusing. Therefore, it is imperative to be organized. I like to take some time and put every single date on my calendar when I receive the exhibitor package. This helps me feel better about knowing I won’t miss a thing.
In addition to doing all of the necessary registering and ordering, I think it is a great idea to delegate roles for your team members who will attend the conference. You only have a short amount of time to make a big impact. So, if your team does not know what to do, you will waste time.
Having a schedule will help to maximize your impact. Have one sales guy running demos, another one out in the field attracting people to your booth. Having everyone working together, with a positive attitude will really help amplify your conference experience. Especially since, as we all know, people buy from people. So, get out there!
3. Do Something Interactive
There are a lot of booths to stop by. So how do you get people coming to you?
By doing something interactive, you can drive traffic to your booth. Think about what people like: games, selfies, contests. Things that are entertaining and fun. The more creative, the better. And let people know early. Posting your ideas on social media will create buzz around your company.
For example, at Content Marketing World, Trapit played BINGO. We turned to Twitter a few days before the event and let people know our plan. We created BINGO cards with popular content marketing phrases. When players heard a word or phrase on their card, they marked it off. 5 in a row and BINGO! Folks then headed over to the Trapit booth to collect a prize. How fun!
4. Be Ready to Follow up
So, you did all of this wonderful preparation. You were organized, had great giveaways, had a fun interactive game. Don’t lose all of the excitement you created. Having a follow-up email ready to go the day after the conference is a life saver for your marketing team.
Make this a part of your pre-conference “to do” list. We like to mention something to jog the recipient’s memory about your company. Something like, “We hope you enjoy your computer cleaner and headphones” is a good way to help people to connect the dots.
A short and sweet email is the perfect way to end your conference outreach.
Conferences are a wonderful way to gain exposure for your company. By following these few tips, hopefully you can get the most you can out of your conference experience.
-Maura
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